Mission Creek Festival announces full 2016 literary line-up

More than 30 events, mostly free, make up the literary track of this year’s Mission Creek Festival, which kicks off on Apr. 5. The emphasis is on “Literature Within & Beyond Text,” a concept highlighted by festival headliners Alison Bechdel, who rose to fame with her graphic memoir Fun Home (recently adapted into an award-winning Broadway musical) and Saul Williams, a renowned hip hop and spoken word artist whose latest album will be released in conjunction with a graphic novel.

The festival also includes the sixth annual Lit Crawl (Friday, Apr. 8), the seventh annual Literary Magazine and Small Press Book Fair (Saturday, Apr. 9 at The Mill), and the very first ICE CREAM: The Iowa City Expo for Comics & Real Eclectic Alternative Media (Saturday, Apr. 9 at Public Space One).

Literary magazines and independent publishers from across the country and right here in Iowa City set up shop at The Mill for the 7th year in a row. The full list of participants is available here. The highlight reading, by Richard Siken, starts at 6 p.m. (see below).